Branding Compared To Direct Marketing
Recently the question has been asked by many, "Is branding dead
?" Its effectiveness in today's economy has been questioned.
I believe it's greatly been misunderstood. Most direct marketers are against branding, because they equate it to image ads instead of measurable direct response ads. And companies that believe in branding say that the direct marketing approach comes off unprofessional.
Here's the definition of branding according to Entrepreneur Magazine's website:
Definition: The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.
Here's where things get a little bit dicey. Everyone agrees that they need to differentiate their product from their competitors. It's the "how" to do that where people differ.
Here's the problem: theoretical verses practical. Most businesses act on theory, not on real world practical strategies. Most branding is based on ego, being clever, and gets really far away from the core promise to the customer. Instead of actually finding a way to stand out by creating higher value, most companies avoid this and try to stand out with clever advertising. (Which consumers could care less about)
Your brand is simply your promise to your customer. Nothing more and nothing less. When you lose track of that basic premise, your brand loses power.
The foundation of branding is the logo. Branding is focused primarily on design, not words. Yet words are the currency of an information- based society. How can a company really communicate the promise that differentiates them from other companies simply through a small graphic logo? The answer: They can't. Next is your slogan. This gets us much closer to a clear communication of your brand's marketing message. But slogans are typically short and sweet, clever, and pithy. But they still typically fail by being nonspecific, not containing a benefit, and not telling a complete story.
And how about the "voice" of your brand? With most companies this is an extremely vague indication of company values. In direct marketing companies it reflects the company's personality and speaks in a "voice" that resonates with their ideal prospect/customer. When used correctly, your brand voice can be an effective strategy to get more customers. More customers equal a bigger brand.
A big part of the trouble with branding is the sheer vagueness of the term. The word is bandied about repeatedly when speaking of advertising and marketing.
The sad thing is many companies truly believe that they can somehow communicate their marketing message via design, color, etc. The way this got started was by advertising agencies: Big companies advertising in big, bold, expensive media so they could get a nice juicy commission.
Most businesses aren't in the position to spend millions on advertising this way. And especially in today's economy it is a waste of money. Nobody is paying attention. They may pay attention because it's entertaining, but that doesn't make a new customer.
Design certainly plays a role in branding. But it's not what most people think. Design alone will almost never communicate the message you're trying to get across. Things have really gotten out of control with design. The purpose of design is to make your advertising look valuable and make your message more readable.
People today are too busy being bombarded by advertising messages everywhere they go. So if you want to cut through the clutter you can't do what every other business is doing. And you certainly can't do what has been advocated by advertising agencies for years.
The answer to effective branding is in creating a unique selling proposition for your company. It's essentially the same thing but with very different results.
A unique selling proposition has much more to do with a focus on words rather than design. It is the answer to the question: Why should I do business with you verses any other company?
Instead of clever word plays or slogans, the USP deals with specifics promises, value, and benefits. Like the "brand" which promises these things, the USP actually delivers on them. And it's the one thing that can set your company apart from all the competition.
Consistency and repetition is critical in branding and in building a USP. If you fail to deliver on your core promise it will cause your ultimate demise. When you integrate your USP in everything you do your company will stand out in an amazing way.
Interestingly the questions to determine both USP and brand are quite similar, but the end results are massively different. The USP logically branches out into a complete "sales pitch" for your company in written form. So that it can be replicated and duplicated in a marketing system. A system that cranks out a steady stream of new prospects and converts them into paying customers.
Finally, when companies do traditional branding it costs a lost of money. For results that are immeasurable. Millions of dollars are spent to build brands. When the smart business owner uses effective strategies instead of useless branding, they can spend a whole lot more money to get a much bigger result.
Huge companies can afford to waste tens of thousands to millions of dollars on wasted advertising. The real question is...can you?
by: Ken Hoffman
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